Paul McCartney's Greek escape blocked

Sir Paul McCartney realized how famous he was when he could no longer holiday in Greece.

The 'Hey Jude' hitmaker admits he loved escaping to Europe when The Beatles - also comprising Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison - became hugely successful in his nativeUK but had to stop when their chart domination spread.

He said: "We used to go to Greece on holiday. I remember going with Ringo, my then-girlfriend Jane Asher and Ringo's wife Maureen.

"We were getting famous, but not mega-famous yet. I used to hang out with the hotel band. They didn't know who The Beatles were at all and I remember thinking, 'This is great, because no matter how famous I get I can always go to Greece.'

"Then one day, about a year later, someone said, 'You're number one in Greece,' and I thought, 'Bang goes the escape route.'

"That was a light bulb going off and saying, right, now you are famously famous and it's not going to be easy to run away."

However, the news made him more determined to become an international music success than ever.

He explained to Shortlist magazine: "At that point I just had to make a decision: get with it or give up, and I decided not to give up."